The pericardium is richly innervated with sympathetic and somatic afferents. Stretch-sensitive mechanoreceptors sense changes in cardiac volume and tension and may be responsible for transmitting pericardial pain. The phrenic nerves are embedded in the parietal pericardium and are vulnerable to injury during surgery on the pericardium.what are cardiac plexus ?option 1cardiac brs. of the vagus n. and cervical sympathetic trunk; thoracic visceral nn.

sensory : pain from the heart and lungs

cardiac plexus is continuous with the coronary and pulmonary plexuses; thoracic visceral nn. carry pain from the heart to the upper thoracic spinal cord segments resulting in pain referred to the left upper limb in the T1 and T2 dermatomes

what is great thoracic splanchnic nerve ?option 2

neurons in the intermediolateral cell column of spinal cord levels T5-T9; the greater thoracic splanchnic nerve appears to arise by multiple contributions from the sympathetic trunk

sensory : pain from the abdominal viscera

greater thoracic splanchnic n. passes through the crus of the respiratory diaphragm; postganglionic processes from the celiac ganglion spread down the aorta and distribute with its branches; they innervate the vascular smooth of these vessels and vascular smooth muscle of the organs supplied

what is intercostal nerve ?option 3

ventral primary rami of spinal nerves T1-T11

sensory : skin of the chest and abdomen anterolaterally; skin of the medial side of the upper limb (via T1-T2)

also known as: CN X, 10th cranial nerve; the vagus n. passes through the jugular foramen to exit the posterior cranial fossa; vagus means "wanderer" in reference to its extensive distribution to the body cavities.